Massive Struggle Leads To Police-Involved Shooting

Family Says Man Has Bi-Polar Disorder

BALTIMORE COUNTY -- A Baltimore County man
remained in critical condition Friday after he was shot multiple times by
county police officers.

Officers responded to a home Thursday and said they were
confronted by 27-year-old Odatei Mills, who had made the call to police, saying
he needed help.

Police said Mills met the officers at the door and began
talking incoherently, comparing the officers to aliens.

"He fell to the ground and asked them to arrest him.
Then he jumped up and punched one of the officers in the face," said
Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey.

"This was a long, intense and very
violent confrontation. Officers tried everything they could to end it without
using lethal force."

-
Police Spokesman Bill Toohey

Police said they used a Taser on Mills, but it didn't stop
him. His mother said police used the Taser on him three times.

In the ensuing struggle, Mills threw a glass patio table at
the officers, who tried to pepper spray on him, Toohey said.

Police said Mills broke through a glass door. Toohey said
they heard him rifle through a kitchen drawer and became concerned he may come
after them with a knife.

"At this point, they are concerned because they didn't
know if anyone else was in that house, who made that 911 call and whether there
was someone else in there that was in danger," Toohey said.

The officers entered through a front door and found Mills in
the dining room waving a heavy chair. Police ordered Mills to drop it, but he
didn't and that's when two of the officers fired. Police said Mills continued
to resist eve n after being put on a stretcher.

"This was a long, intense and very violent
confrontation. Officers tried everything they could to end it without using
lethal force," Toohey said.

Forest Grove Ave. Police Involved Shooting

Baltimore County police are promising a rigorous investigation
in the wake of Thursday's shooting of Odatei Mills.

The 27 year old man was shot after what police describe as a violent struggle
that involved at least three police officers.

Mills has a history of mental illness and his mother told ABC2 he was having
a manic episode when police arrived.

Officers responded to the home in the 3600 block of Forest Grove Avenue after
a 9-1-1 call reporting an emergency.

Police say when they arrived Mills was rambling incoherently about aliens,
fell to the ground, and told the officers to arrest him.

The officers say he then got up and hit one of the officers in the face.

Police say Mills was tasered and hit with pepper spray but still managed to
get away momentarily.

When he emerged from the house with a chair two officers opened fire.

Mills was taken to Sinai hospital. There is no word on his condition.

The victim's family said he suffers from bi-polar disorder.
They believe he was having a manic episode and called for help.

Mills' mom, who did not want to be identified, said she
arrived home during the struggle and found her son's long dreadlocks inside on
the floor. She said she believes he cut his hair during the manic episode.

Mills' father said his son was shot six times.

The family said police provoked Mills because they lacked
the training to handle mental health emergencies.

The family belongs to the National Alliance of Mental
Illness. Or ganization Executive Director Kate Farinholt told 11 News that
Baltimore County police command understands the importance of specialized
training but found that few take advantage of it once a year.

She recommended at least eight hours yearly so officers can
recognized specific behaviors and be proficient at deescalating situations.

Officers said they had responded to the home at least twice
in the past.

The two officers who fired the shots are on administrative
leave, police told 11 News reporter David Collins.

County Police Release Names Of Officers In Shooting

Baltimore
County Police have released the names of two officers who shot a Lochearn man
during a standoff at his home last week.

Officials
say Officer S. Jacob, a three year
veteran of the police department, and Officer
J. McKnight, a five year veteran of the police department shot Odatei Mills
last Thursday.

Police say that Mills was throwing
furniture and other objects at the officers after they responded to a call at
this home in the 3600-block of Forest Grove Avenue. Mills had
claimed that "aliens were out to get him."

Mills remains hospitalized.
The two officers are on administrative leave.

Baltimore County police have identified a 27-year-old
Lochearn man who was shot by two officers Thursday after he summoned police to
his home and then became violent and irrational, a spokesman for the department
said.

The spokesman, Bill Toohey, said the man, Odatei Kwadwo Mills, was shot
multiple times and was recovering Friday from surgery at Sinai Hospital, where
he was under sedation. Mills has not yet been charged with an offense, Toohey
said.

The county's 911 switchboard received a call about 4:30 p.m. Thursday saying
there was an emergency, but the caller did not provide an address befo re
hanging up. An operator traced the call to a house in the 3600 block of Forest
Grove Ave., and two officers were sent there.

"Mr. Mills met them at the door," Toohey said. "He was making
incoherent and irrational statements, and talking about aliens. He then fell on
the ground on his back and asked the officers to arrest him."

Still outside the house, Mills was ordered to stand. At that
point, Toohey said, "He jumped up and punched one of the officers in the
face, so his partner hit him with a Tazer."

In the struggle that ensued, the officers tried to handcuff Mills but managed
only to get the cuff on one of his wrists. "He continued to fight and was
Tazered again," Toohey said. "He got up again and he pushed the
officers away and ran to the side of the house, where there's a porch. He
picked up a glass patio table and threw it at the officers. Then they used
pepper spray -- that didn't work. They're doing everything possible to avoid
using fatal force on this guy."

A third officer had arrived by that point. Mills broke through a glass door and
went back inside the house. The two officers who had initially responded went
back to the front door and entered a vestibule, from where they could hear
Mills "going through a drawer in the kitchen," Toohey said.

news

Gwynn Oak man shot by police after 'escalating' violence

Irrational talk of 'aliens' led to struggle and assault on police

Posted 5/15/09

Baltimore County police Thursday shot a man whom they say
was talking irrationally about “aliens” before assaulting several police
officers.

The incident began when two police officers were dispatched to a house the 3600
block of Forest Grove Avenue in Gwynn Oak for an emergency.

When police got to the front door, they were confronted by Odatei Kwadwo Mills,
27, who was making “incoherent, irrational statements about aliens,” police
said.

Mills’ statements were then followed by what police called as an
“escalating series of violent acts.” Police described the series of events
this way:

Mills was on the ground making irrational statements, then stood up and punched
one of the two officers. The second officer then struck Mills with a Taser, who
fell to the ground but then got up and once more started fighting the officers.
Officers again struck Mills with the Taser with no effect. A third officer then
arrived at the scene.

Mills ran to a side porch of the house and police followed. The struggle
continued there and officers used pepper spray in an unsuccessful attempt to
subdue Mills. Mills then threw a glass patio table at the officers.

Mills then broke through a glass side door back into the house. Police went
around to the front and followed Mills into the house.

The officers were concerned there was someone else inside who was in danger.
They then heard Mills rummaging through a kitchen dr awer, perhaps to find a
knife, they said.

Mills then suddenly appeared holding a wooden chair, threatening to throw it at
the police. Officers ordered Mills to put the chair down, but when he did not,
the first two officers on the scene fired their service weapons, according to
police.

Police said Mills continued to resist. The officers then fired multiple shots
and Mills fell to the floor.

Mills was taken to Sinai Medical Center, where he was listed in critical
condition as of late this afternoon, according to hospital staff.

“Based on preliminary information, it appears that the officers' actions were
justified in what was a prolonged struggle with a particularly violent man —
a struggle that steadily escalated,” said Baltimore County police spokesman
Bill Toohey in a statement. “However, as in all officer involved shootings in
Baltimore County, there will be a rigorous investigation of the incident to
determine if the officers did act appropriately. As is routine after a
shooting, the two officers have been placed on administrative leave.”

The officers were unharmed in the struggle, police said.

Toohey said officers had been called to the house two previously for reports of
Mills acting erratically. Court records show Mills was convicted of
second-degree assault, a misdemeanor, in 1999 in Baltimore County; and fake
drug distribution in 2002 in Ocean City.